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NeoWen's avatar
NeoWen
Iron Contributor
Jul 28, 2025

Unable to create system image backup

I am running Windows 11 Pro latest update on a Dell XPS-8960 with an Intel i9 processor and 64 GB of memory. I have tried repeatedly to create a system image backup on a several USB hard drives, on the second 1 TB hard drive in the system, and on one of my network servers. For the first two I keep getting an error message that the backup failed as shadow copy on source volume got deleted. I ran vssadmin resize shadowstorage /For=C: /On=C: /MaxSize=20% and tried again, but the error persists. When I tried to save to a network server location, I get an error that the specified network location cannot be used. However, the system image for my MSI laptop was successfully saved to this server. I never had any problems creating the system image on my previous Dell XPS-8940.

3 Replies

  • Elibeth's avatar
    Elibeth
    Iron Contributor

    Is it USB 2.0 or 3.0? You need a fast drive for making system backup.

  • BolinAlunsi's avatar
    BolinAlunsi
    Iron Contributor

    Since Windows System Image Backup is somewhat limited and can be finicky, consider third-party imaging tools like Macrium Ref1ect, A0MEI Backupper, which may offer more reliable network and disk backup options.

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